Chapter 1459: First Meeting
Not long after Yang Haoran fulfilled his promise, another contingent of Myriad Ghost Grotto members arrived within the restrictive enchantment. Their method of entry was identical to Tang Shi's: tearing through space to directly descend into the barrier.
This time, neither Zhong Siyu nor Ma Ling paid any mind to it. Both simply continued with their tasks, as in their estimation, the likelihood of an enemy attack was exceedingly low, rendering concern unnecessary.
Moreover, even if it were an enemy assault, with Tang Shi leading the Myriad Ghost Grotto members, it would hardly be their concern. As long as the two sides did not engage within the restrictive enchantment, it signified that the newcomers' identities were entirely above question.
The second wave of Myriad Ghost Grotto members, at Tang Shi's direction, approached Yang Haoran and respectfully saluted him. However, per Tang Shi's instruction, they remained silent, and after offering their bows, they integrated into the ranks of the first contingent, standing orderly and awaiting the arrival of the remaining members.
In the time that followed, Yang Haoran continued to research Spiritual Arts, while Zhong Siyu refined Soul Crystals. Ma Ling, naturally, proceeded with setting up the teleportation array. Members of the Myriad Ghost Grotto arrived one after another within the restrictive enchantment, and not only them, but also the Iron Blood Demon Hall, led and managed by the siblings Jing Qi and Jing Miao, likewise saw members arriving in succession, with Jing Qi and Jing Miao themselves being the first to appear.
The emergence of the Iron Blood Demon Hall once more astonished Ma Ling. Although she had never heard of the Iron Blood Demon Hall prior to this day, the intense stench of blood and malevolent aura emanating from its members made her realize that these individuals belonged to the Demon Cult and were not to be trifled with. Her perception of Yang Haoran was consequently refreshed yet again.
Zhong Siyu, however, held little interest in the members of the Iron Blood Demon Hall. When it came to blood and violence, she believed few in this world could rival her, and as for their malevolent aura, it went without saying that few dared to compare themselves to her. If the members of the Iron Blood Demon Hall were ghost cultivators like those of the Myriad Ghost Grotto, and furthermore, were adversaries of Yang Haoran, then she would certainly be quite intrigued. But given that the Iron Blood Demon Hall's members were not ghost cultivators and were, moreover, an organization under Yang Haoran, how could she possibly summon even a shred of interest?
Whether it was the arriving members of the Myriad Ghost Grotto or the Iron Blood Demon Hall, their respective leaders all possessed the ability to tear through space within the restrictive enchantment, thus without exception, they directly descended into the barrier. With the arrival of each contingent from the Myriad Ghost Grotto and the Iron Blood Demon Hall, Tang Shi, along with the siblings Jing Qi and Jing Miao, would instruct their subordinates to first silently salute Yang Haoran before allowing them to rejoin their ranks and await the arrival of others.
Though crowded, it remained remarkably quiet. The members of both organizations stood in place like lifeless statues, with no one whispering or making any sound, displaying exceptional discipline.
The members of the Iron Blood Demon Hall were the first to fully assemble. This situation largely arose because the Iron Blood Demon Hall had far fewer members than the Myriad Ghost Grotto, and the Myriad Ghost Grotto's operational scope was considerably larger than that of the Iron Blood Demon Hall. Consequently, gathering all Myriad Ghost Grotto members in a short period was significantly more challenging than doing so for the Iron Blood Demon Hall.
Upon seeing that all his Iron Blood Demon Hall members had arrived, Jing Qi prepared to report the situation to Yang Haoran, but he was stopped by Jing Miao.
Jing Qi was naturally quite perplexed by Jing Miao's action, but she promptly cleared up the confusion in his mind.
Jing Miao's meaning was simple: although the Iron Blood Demon Hall members had all arrived, those of the Myriad Ghost Grotto had not yet fully assembled. They should wait until the Myriad Ghost Grotto members had also arrived before presenting a joint report to Yang Haoran.
Before this day, the siblings Jing Qi and Jing Miao had also heard of the Myriad Ghost Grotto, just like Ma Ling, having learned about it through other channels. The two siblings did not know that the Myriad Ghost Grotto was an organization under Yang Haoran, but this did not mean that Tang Shi was unaware of their origins, nor that Tang Shi was ignorant of the Iron Blood Demon Hall's existence.
Upon arriving at this place, Tang Shi proactively greeted the siblings and reminded them that Yang Haoran was currently researching Spiritual Arts. This served two purposes: on one hand, it informed the siblings that his Myriad Ghost Grotto and their Iron Blood Demon Hall were part of the same family; on the other, it was a kind reminder to the siblings that it would be best not to disturb Yang Haoran at this moment.
It was precisely because of Tang Shi's prior kind reminder that Jing Miao stopped Jing Qi, deciding to wait until the Myriad Ghost Grotto members had all arrived before presenting a unified report to Yang Haoran. This way, they would neither prematurely disturb Yang Haoran's study of Spiritual Arts nor cause Tang Shi to lose face – truly killing two birds with one stone.
After understanding Jing Miao's intention, Jing Qi did not persist with his own idea but instead waited as Jing Miao suggested.
While it was indeed more troublesome for the Myriad Ghost Grotto to gather all its members in a short period compared to the Iron Blood Demon Hall, fortunately, the Myriad Ghost Grotto members possessed extremely strong executive ability. Furthermore, after arriving in the territory of the Tong Continent Administrative Courtyard, Tang Shi did not dare let his subordinates range too far, limiting their mission assignments solely to the Tong Continent. Consequently, assembling them was far easier than it had been when they were in the Jingling Continent.
Tang Shi knew that Yang Haoran could arrive in the Tong Continent at any moment and would immediately summon the Myriad Ghost Grotto members. To avoid delaying Yang Haoran's time as much as possible when that happened, he limited the Myriad Ghost Grotto members' assigned tasks solely to the Tong Continent. This way, no matter when Yang Haoran arrived within the Tong Continent's borders or when he ordered the Myriad Ghost Grotto members to gather, Yang Haoran would not have to wait too long.
As for the nature of the tasks Tang Shi assigned to the Myriad Ghost Grotto members, it remained the same as when they were in the Jingling Continent: gathering intelligence, collecting various resources, and so forth. What they did before, they were still doing now, only the scope of their missions had been significantly reduced.
When the Iron Blood Demon Hall members had all arrived, the Myriad Ghost Grotto members quickly assembled as well. Thousands of individuals stood mightily before Yang Haoran, and the formerly spacious Gobi Desert became even more crowded than before.
Tang Shi looked towards the siblings Jing Qi and Jing Miao. Sensing Tang Shi's gaze, Jing Qi and Jing Miao also looked back at Tang Shi. Seeing Tang Shi nod towards them, the siblings immediately understood his meaning. The three then stepped forward, walking towards Yang Haoran. When they were still two meters away from Yang Haoran, all three simultaneously stopped and respectfully saluted him.
"Master, all members of the Iron Blood Demon Hall have assembled."
Jing Qi was the first to speak, his demeanor respectful, his voice clear and resonant, without the slightest flaw. However, Jing Miao subtly furrowed her brow, as if finding her brother's action somewhat improper. Yet, she did not speak at that moment, choosing instead to remain silent.
"Master, all members of the Myriad Ghost Grotto have assembled!"
Tang Shi then spoke. His demeanor and tone were equally respectful as Jing Qi's, without the slightest imperfection.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran waved his hand, dispersing the characters before him, and put away the skull. He then looked at the three individuals standing in front of him.
"Heh, excellent. Rise."
Yang Haoran smiled gently, speaking to the three. Hearing his words, they stood up, while Yang Haoran shifted his gaze to the area behind them.
Under Yang Haoran's gaze, the members of the Myriad Ghost Grotto and the Iron Blood Demon Hall stood in two distinct formations behind the three. There was a significant disparity in their numbers; the Myriad Ghost Grotto far outnumbered the Iron Blood Demon Hall, and the malevolent aura emanating from the Myriad Ghost Grotto members was likewise stronger than that of the Iron Blood Demon Hall.
As neither side's members had fully unleashed their power, it was impossible to compare the strength of their personnel. However, Yang Haoran knew that the Iron Blood Demon Hall certainly could not compare to the Myriad Ghost Grotto. The Iron Blood Demon Hall was simply too young in the Myriad Ghost Grotto's presence, and combined with the fact that the resources he controlled provided less assistance to the Iron Blood Demon Hall than to the Myriad Ghost Grotto, it was only natural that the Iron Blood Demon Hall was inferior to the Myriad Ghost Grotto.
It was a certainty that the Iron Blood Demon Hall could not currently rival the Myriad Ghost Grotto, but whether the Iron Blood Demon Hall would be able to catch up in the future remained to be seen. Yang Haoran looked forward to it greatly.
Yang Haoran merely glanced at the two formations behind the three before retracting his gaze. He did not speak to discourage the siblings Jing Qi and Jing Miao, nor did he intentionally provoke conflict between the two organizations. Instead, he smiled and nodded at the three, offering a positive appraisal.
"Heh, very good. It proves that I was right to entrust these two organizations to the three of you respectively. You have not disappointed me. I am very satisfied with the results you have achieved."
Comments